Longtime teacher and popular author Margaret Nutting Ralph brings her extensive knowledge of catechetics and the Bible to this book, a guide to better understanding the Lectionary. Why is it important to "break open the Lectionary"? "Because it is possible to listen to the Word as a living Word and never understand what that Word is teaching...or to understand what a biblical author is teaching but fail to apply that living Word to one's own life and times," writes the author. Breaking Open the Lectionary will help readers hear the living word in its biblical context, thus helping them understand what the biblical author intended to say as they apply that to their own lives.